JetBlue is reducing its Newark and LaGuardia footprint as it expands into Florida

JetBlue Airlines It told CNBC on Wednesday that it will close its flight attendant base at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and technical operations bases there and at LaGuardia Airport in New York this fall as it seeks to cut costs and boost service in Florida, though it noted that no employees would lose their jobs.

She said employees could bid or transfer to other bases.

“JetBlue is making targeted schedule adjustments, ending seasonal service between Newark (EWR), Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS), to support growth at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,” the airline said in a statement.

It comes as JetBlue said earlier Wednesday that it will expand its daily cross-country flights with business class, Mint, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to San Diego on November 19 and will add more Mint-equipped flights this winter to San Francisco and Los Angeles.

JetBlue has spent years trimming unprofitable routes and cutting costs to return to consistent profitability.

Its last profitable quarter was two years ago, and a push at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is a big part of its strategy, JetBlue President Marty St. George told CNBC earlier this month. He said the airline is exploring space for an upscale airport lounge there as well.

The airline is already Fort Lauderdale’s largest, though it was previously second only to Spirit Airlines, the South Florida-based discount carrier that collapsed on May 2.

JetBlue executives have pointed to higher operating costs at airports like LaGuardia.

“We’re much smaller at LaGuardia than we were four years ago because it’s $40 [enplanement fee] Airport for us. “And the fountain is really beautiful, but… I think people would rather have low prices than a really beautiful fountain,” St. George said at a JPMorgan industry conference in March, referring to the 25-foot-tall water feature in the airport’s Terminal B.